Philippians 2:3-5 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
You have been stranded on a deserted island with your best friend. The limited amount of food that you were able to gather is now down to your last piece. Who gets it? You or your friend? Splitting it is not an option, so who gets it?
The answer to this question can be easily answered if at least one of you possesses a very important quality: love. If someone has love, they will have the ability to give up things and give them to others.
As I took a short break from writing this I noticed my cat walk over to his food bowl, stop, sit down, and switch between staring at it and me. It was empty, and my cat seemed to try to communicate with me his wish by emitting several loud meow’s. He had a need: he was hungry and was out of food. So I had a decision of whether I was going to help him or not. Because I love and care about him very much, I got up and gave him what he needed. I put his needs before my own.
This short example, while similar, pales greatly in comparison to the sacrifice that Jesus gave. As sinners all doomed because of sin, we had no pathway to salvation. Animal sacrifices could not take away our sins as they were there just to cover them, and there certainly wasn’t any way for us to undo our past sins. We needed something: forgiveness. Jesus knew this, so He provided the way to make that available.
To do this, however, required that Jesus come down to the Earth to die and be The One perfect sacrifice. By offering Himself on the cross for our sins, He showed the entire world the greatest act of love that the world will ever see. He gave up His own life to save everyone else’s. His death provided the ability and opportunity for billions of lives to be saved. His death showed us His love.
There is no way that we can even compare or come close to this level of sacrifice, but we still show this same quality to others by putting the needs of others first, before our own. Love.
Romans 12:10 “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;”
Charity (brotherly love) for others will always think of others. It will always seek to help or aid others, even if means that you need to take second place. Love will make time to help others even when you don’t feel like it. Love will cause you to bend over to pick up someone who is hurt, even when you yourself are in pain. Love will swallow your anger and frustration by forgiving others, because we know that we need to show the exact same qualities as Christ.
We need to put others first.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 